Celebration
by Joshua
Summary: Things are good on New Earth, the Titan has been put back to work saveing lives, but elsewhere, plan are made to upset this peace. Reveiw me! :P


  
  
It had teken preed a while to get used to it, but his heart was not beating. It was so strnge, one never noticed a heatbeat untill it was gone. Preed also noticed he didn't have to breath. . .he could if he liked, but it wasn't required. It was so strange, holding his breath for hours, not feeling the slighterst urge to fill his lungs. Preed wasn't ready to try it, but he as sure he could take a bullet, a stab, even have his lifeless heart torn form his body and still live. He began to wonder, if anything could kill him. Preed smiled at his reflection in the grimey portal of Xin's ship. Preed's quarters were small, dingy, but he didn't need to sleep, and was prety sure that he didn't need to eat. A small plutonium battery on the plate in his skul sent plasma shocks though his brain, kepeing it and his musvcles alive. All he really required, was an occational treament with that gloriose macine, that is, untill it was complete. When the Golem Macine was repaired, it would be capable of mutch more. Preed's woulds could be healed completely, and he would be truly immortal. He really didn't care why Xin resurected him, at this point he'd be willing to do anyhting to repay what Xin had given him.  
It's amazeing how alive you feel, when you know you can never die!  
  
After a few months of studying, and hard work, Cale had figured out how to re-sue the Titan. The planet-making process was simple to understand, and from what he could tell it could be re-used. Soon, clients from all over the galaxy were contacting Cale wih ever-increaseing offers for planet making. Most of them power-hungry races wanting a new base of operations for conquest, Cale didn't like that idea, so after carefully going over the canidates, and their agendas he found a race that had the most worthy reason for useig the Titan. The Sutarins are rapidly loosing the only continent on their planet to violent volcanic activity. They could't offer as mutch as most races, but they needed it the most, and the sum they were offer was still more than Cale could ever have dreamed of having back on Tau-14. Of corse, the first paying client of the Titan was something to celebrate, how else than a good old fation Earth-style barbique?  
Cale tried almost a dozen time explianing it to Stith and Gune, the concept of cooking outside over real fire really dfidn't make sence to them. Cooking in genreal didn't make mutch sence to Stith, a strait carnavore she grabed a handfull of raw hambureger and was curently eating witting at the picnic table eating it witout the aid of a bun, or silverware, or a plate. Cale opted to cook his burger, as did Akima who watched axisly awaiting the meal.  
"You sure you've Barbequed before?" Akima asked.  
"I've seen my father do it," Cale siad. "What's to it? Just put it on the grill untill it stoped bleeding,"  
"You burn out the best part," Stith mumbled though a mouthfull of red meat.  
"Several microorganislms in mammal flesh can be hazardoes to human physyoligy," Gune said watching the fire from where he stood.   
"That's another reason we cook it Gune," Cale tried to explain, "The meat only tastes good when it's cooked,"  
"Humans got a bigger sence of taste that most reaces," Stith said. "They can ever taste the smoke in the meat,"  
Gune turned wide-eyted back to the hamburger pattis on the fire, "Interesting, so very. . .interesting."  
Akima sat next to Stith. "Did you hear anything bac from Jopaal?"  
Stith nodded. "Yeh, the little prick tells me he's to buisy to show up." Stith said. "Siad something about Bring some artifacts from Mantra to Sogowa."  
"I thought Mantra was destroyed," Cale said.  
"Not destroy, just screwed up." Stith said, takeijgn another moutfull of raw meat. "Atmopher is almost all amonia, the surface is mostly molten rock. He said they found some old Mantrin technology there and was having some Akrenians smuggle it back to Sogowa disguesed as just another weapons shipment."  
"Should you be telling us this?" Cale asked, flipig a burger into a bun.  
"Nobody cares," Stith said. "He ust wants to keep it from the Galarnists still on Sogowa. None of them leave the planet anyway."  
"Well I certanly hope he gets to visit," Akima said.  
"Doubtfull," Stith said. "He' Jopaal Ramada now, and that mean he's really buisy, and he's never been off-world anyway. He hates the idea of space travel, scares him a bit."  
"Well, stranger things have happened," Cale said. "I used to scared of space travel, if Dad wasn't in the buisiness, I don't I would have ever left Earth."  
"Maybie," Stith said, finisheing her meat. "But not anyrtime soon."  
  
  
The Akrenians have failed. Whatever the artifact was, it was attact and stolen by Xin suporters. Jopaal's firt real job as Ramada, and he screwed it up. He gazed out his office window at the launch pad, where MSA troopers were prepareing a fleet of Mantrin Warshuttle combat orbiters, they could suround Sogowa to prevent an attack. Jopaal had called his cabinet into his office, hopeing they would help him come to an answer.   
"Ramada?" Noka, the minister of Defense said.  
"Yes,"  
"Should we contact the Namanian Redgaurd?" Noka asked, her eyes a bit sorrowful. "They have ships capable to hunting down the pirates and recovering the artifact."  
The redgaurd had not been on a major moovement for three hundred years, mostly beucase the Ramadas before him were good enough leaders not to need an off-world army. Jopaal felt down, he should have sent mercenarys for the artifact, not used Akrenians. He thought he could save the taxpayers some money, and he did, but the trasury was deep. Their was no need to cut corners like that, now he was pyting the price.  
One thing to do,  
Make up for it personaly.  
"Don't bother the Redgaurd." Jopaal said. "Sendhitng them after a few pirates would be like using a riot gun to kill a dillbug,"  
Jopaal's minister of protocall, Meer, spoke up. "Ramada, I think it would be best to show the people that despite you pacifism, you'd be willing to flex some mucle, the redgaurd will walk into death at your request, they'd be happy to squash a few pirates."  
"Your half right," Jopaal said. "But I have something else in mind. Noka, what conditon is the Grand Crusader in?"  
Jopaal spoke of the Ramada's personal warship.  
"Ready for use as always," Noka siad. "But it will need a routine inspection, it hasn't be in space in decades, not since the administration of Kua Ramda."  
"Prepare it." Jopaal said. "Crew it with the best freelance crew on Sogowa, I will hunt down these pirates myself."  



End file.
